Cancer is caused by changes in our DNA sequences or how those sequences are expressed. These changes can be caused by genetic mutations or by epigenetic alterations (changes that do not alter the genome but affect the function of the genome). Understanding how genetic and epigenetic changes arise, the significance of these specific changes and the consequences of inappropriate gene regulation (when genes are turned on or off) can reveal new strategies for drug discovery.
We now know that the growth and spread of cancer involves not just tumor cells but other host cells in the tumor microenvironment—the cellular neighborhood around cancer. For example, angiogenesis (blood vessel growth) requires the tumor to recruit surrounding blood vesselbuilding cells to enlarge its blood supply. This mechanism provides oxygen and nutrients to tumors, so they can grow, and allows cancer cells to escape their primary site and metastasize. Learning how to alter the microenvironment could lead to new approaches against cancer.
Resources to Know More about Cancer:
http://www.burnham.org/
http://www.cancerinstitutewia.org/
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